The Moyes decade: 10 biggest achievements of Everton boss

Life as a manager in the Barclays Premier League does not last too long these days – it can be just mere months if you get off to a shaky start at Chelsea.

So as David Moyes hits 10 years at Everton, it is refreshing to see that a boss appointed in the 21st century can endure ups and downs and still reach double figures at a top-flight club.

Here Sportsmail celebrates his 10 biggest achievements since he took over from the sacked Walter Smith a decade ago.

Good life: David Moyes on his first day as Everton manager

Making an instant impact

Only goal difference separated Everton from the bottom three in the Premier League when Moyes took charge. But after winning three of their first four matches under the former Preston boss, the Toffees would end the season in 15th place and avoid relegation by seven points.

The crucial game came only nine days into Moyes' tenure, when Everton travelled to relegation rivals Derby and secured a thrilling 4-3 victory thanks to goals from David Unsworth, Alan Stubbs, Niclas Alexandersson and Duncan Ferguson.

Gate-crashing the top four

Having picked up their lowest Premier League points tally the previous term and finishing just one place above the relegation zone – few expected Moyes' side to even reach the top 10 going into the 2004/05 campaign.

But an incredible season saw Everton defy all odds and finish fourth, despite only signing Marcus Bent, Tim Cahill and James Beattie, as they gained a play-off place in the Champions League.

Fans took satisfaction over finishing above rivals Liverpool too (for the first and only time in the Premier League era) as Moyes' organised and disciplined 4-1-4-1 formation proved key.

Watching brief: Moyes oversees training

The 2009 FA Cup Final

The one mark against Moyes is in 10 years at Goodison Park he has yet to secure any silverware, but in 2009 he came very close to doing so.

Everton reached the FA Cup final against Chelsea after an impressive cup run, knocking out Premier League rivals Liverpool, Aston Villa, Middlesbrough and Manchester United.

They would go on to lose 2-1 at Wembley but not without making history as Louis Saha's opening goal inside 25 seconds marked the quickest ever Cup final goal.

Euro adventures

A controversial defeat to Villarreal in the Champions League play-offs denied Everton a chance to compete with Europe's elite in 2005 but Moyes enjoyed Europa League runs in three of the four seasons that followed.

Their best campaign came in 2007/08, when after sailing through the group stages with a 100 per cent record, they defeated Brann 8-1 on aggregate to set up a last 16 clash with Fiorentina.

But despite winning 2-0 at Goodison Park, the tie finished 2-2 on aggregate and the Toffees were eliminated on penalties.

Bouncing back from poor campaigns

In today's climate, managers are sacked for even making poor starts to the season with excuses ranging from lack of fan support to losing the dressing room.

So it's a testament to Moyes that even through his darkest days as boss he has maintained the support of the fans and crucially the players through some very sticky periods and recovered from them.

This has included guiding Everton to their worst Premier League season, a year after finishing seventh, in 2004. A year later they were in the Champions League.

Even another slump that left the Toffees in the bottom three, five months after reaching Europe's elite, ended with the club finishing a comfortable 11th in the table.

Youth policy: Moyes was happy to blood the likes of Wayne Rooney

Unleashing Rooney and other youngsters

Little was known of Wayne Rooney outside Merseyside when the 16-year-old made his debut against Tottenham on the opening day of the 2002/03 season. But a wonder strike against Arsenal in October soon had a host of clubs chasing his signature.

Manchester United eventually paid £20million for him in 2004 but he is not the only youngster given a springboard to Premier League success by Moyes. Tony Hibbert and Leon Osman became regulars under the Glaswegian while fellow graduates from the Moyes academy have included Jack Rodwell, Victor Anichebe, James Vaughan and the highly rated Ross Barkley.

Smart signings

The funds have dried up at Everton in recent seasons but when Moyes does bring in recruitments they rarely fail.

In midfield Cahill, Mikel Arteta, Marouane Fellaini and Steven Pienaar have been influential over the last few years. While at the back, Leighton Baines, Phil Jagielka and Joleon Lescott have also proven successful – the latter being sold for a tidy £17million profit to Manchester City.

In goal Tim Howard has proven to be the reliable stopper Manchester United failed to uncover, while full-back Sheamus Coleman now looks a steal after being signed for just £150,000 from Irish side Sligo Rovers.

Simply the best: Tim Cahill scores in Everton rout of Sunderland

Seventh heaven

In what is Everton's biggest winning margin under the 48-year-old, the Toffees ran riot against Sunderland in November 2007 when they dispatched Roy Keane's recently promoted outfit 7-1 at Goodison Park.

Braces from Yakubu and Cahill as well as strikes from Pienaar, Andrew Johnson and Osman capped a performance that saw Arteta tear the visitors apart with his creativity in the midfield.

The result came during the middle of a 13-match unbeaten run for Everton and Moyes described the showing at the time as 'probably the best performance' he had seen from his side.

Making Everton competitive again

When the Premier League was formed in 1992, Everton were seen as one of the big five alongside Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham.

But just one top 10 finish in the next 10 seasons proved otherwise. Since Moyes has arrived, only twice have they failed to break into the top-half of the table over a full campaign and they haven't finished lower than eighth since 2006.

Moyes has spent very little relative to his counterparts during the last six years so it is a remarkable achievement that season-after-season he has the Toffees challenging to finish in a European spot on what has been a shoestring budget.

Club longevity

Of the 92 football league managers, only Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger have longer tenures at their current club.

Moyes has little success with his team to show for it but his contributions to Everton have not gone unrecognised, having won the LMA (League Managers Association) manager of the year award in 2003, 2005 and 2009 – a joint record of three times along with Sir Alex Ferguson.

The average tenure of a manager in the top flight doesn't stretch to four seasons in an era of trigger happy chairman, so for Moyes to still be at Everton after a decade is not only a fair reflection of his undoubted ability but also on his own loyalty to the club.